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Jasmine: It’s interesting that you phrased it that way . . . Do you want her to have the hots for you?

Ari couldn’t answer the question; she couldn’t even think.

Sloane was her mortal enemy. She existed to ruin every good thing Ari scraped together for the last three years. There was no way she wanted Sloane to find her attractive. The idea was so preposterous, it was utterly

unthinkable.

Vowing to focus on what she was doing rather than worrying about Sloane, Ari slipped out of the stall and leaned over the sink.

Just pretend like she doesn’t exist. No more playing dirty.

The image of Sloane exploded into her mind. She’d looked at Ari like she was going to devour her, but it wasn’t in her usual hateful way. It was something like desire. Ari’s heart

raced, but it was the tensing low in her belly that disturbed her.

What the hell am I thinking? I hate her!

She tried to remember every horrible thing Sloane had done to her in law school, but she was drawing a blank. She usually had a million reasons at the ready, but she couldn’t conjure a single one. Under the dingy bathroom lighting, it was all looking like spirited competition rather than malicious attacks.

When the bathroom door creaked open, Ari nearly jumped out of her skin. Had Sloane followed her? Nausea and exhilaration fought for control of her body.

“Hello,” an older woman greeted as she entered.

“Hi,” Ari squeaked, flustered by the overwhelming sense of disappointment.

With her hands still wet, Ari raced out of the bathroom.

No matter how quickly she moved, she couldn’t outrun the memory of Sloane moving closer to her instead of backing down. She couldn’t escape the lingering desire in her body either.

CHAPTER 11

AFTER THE BUSIEST week of Ari’s life, she was happy to walk out of the courtroom, finished with her mock trial. It had mostly been a blur, but from what she remembered, she thought she’d done okay.

At the very least, she hadn’t accidentally cursed, fallen on her face, or fainted. That was something to be proud of as she dragged her wiped-out body back to the training room.

With scores of mock trials going on at once, she wondered how many people would be hanging around relieved to be done too and how many were still running the gauntlet.

Instead of being allowed to go home and dive into bed, she had to drag her roller bag full of stu out of the main criminal courthouse, through a stinky alley in ninety-five-degree heat, and into the main building. It was a trek she’d be making every day in a couple of years when she graduated to felonies and joined the big leagues in the big building. The thought refilled her with just enough energy to get into the lobby.

Chad caught her as she pressed the elevator button. “You did a really outstanding job,” he said as they stepped on with

a mob of people.

“Thanks,” she replied, trying to exude confidence. What she really wanted to say was: Oh, God. Really? Do you think so?

I didn’t sound stupid? Or convoluted? Did I make enough eye contact? Was I likable? How did I compare to everybody else? Did I do better than Sloane?

Chad smiled and waited until they were o the elevator to speak again. He leaned over conspiratorially as they strode toward the training room alone. “I haven’t seen all the feedback yet, but I’m pretty confident that you’re in the top three for sure. Not that we keep track of such things.”

Ari’s eyes widened and she stopped in her tracks.

“Really?”

Chad looked at her and winked. “You didn’t hear that from me.”

Despite being bone tired, Ari had to actively fight the will to dance around and do cartwheels. A little validation never felt so good. She’d forgone sleep all week just to prepare, and having it pay o was an indescribable thrill.

When she floated into the training room, the sight of Sloane chatting it up with Javon brought her crashing down to Earth. Standing near a table set up with cookies and drinks, his bright brown eyes were gleaming like a kid on Christmas morning. The light dimmed when he noticed Ari enter the room.